Children of Fire (Complete)

thirty

Gideon

Damnit, last night had been one of the most difficult fucking nights of my life, trying to treat Emerson with the respect that she deserved when all I really wanted to do was have my way with her until the two of passed out from exhaustion. When she walked out of my bathroom wearing nothing but my fucking tee shirt, I thought I had died and gone to heaven right then. The fact that she was allowing herself to be so vulnerable around me turned me on more than seeing her perfect ass peeking out from under my shirt, which was strange for me-- I was a man after all, and a man with needs at that. If she would have been any other woman, not only would she have been face down in a grimy mattress somewhere, but she never would have been allowed to wear my shirt. I didn't have sex with women I was attached to, because none of them had ever been worth the risk of being involved with the club. However, Emerson was standing there next to my bed wearing practically nothing and the temptation had never been stronger.

She climbed in next to me, and I was suddenly regretting having such a high sex drive because my member was standing at direct attention, and I wasn't really sure how to get her close to me without jabbing her in the back. She laid down and pulled the covers up, and I wasn't sure why she was so far away from me. "What are you doing?" I asked, was she suddenly repulsed that I had turned her down? I had basically spilled my hearts contents in front of her earlier, admitting that I had strong feelings for her and she was the only one I wanted next to me and now she was insisting on sleeping on the opposite side of the bed from me. I was selfish, though, and wouldn't allow that. "Get over here.I said I wouldn't try anything with you, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to feel your skin against mine." I meant every word.

I pulled her close to me and slid my hand up the shirt she was wearing. As much as I wanted to roam and explore her perfect body, I would remain a gentleman tonight. I wouldn't give her any reason to be uncomfortable next to me, because God knows I wanted this to be a regular event. She relaxed against me as I traced the curves of her body, never able to take my eyes off of her.

It was so weird, being next to a woman like this and not doing anything sexual. It was even stranger knowing that I would be perfectly content to lay like this and do nothing with her than I would be living out my wildest fantasies with any other woman. Tonight had just gone to prove that I was turning into a different man when it came to Emerson, and I was perfectly okay with that-- despite the hell I would eventually receive from my brothers in the club for going soft because of a woman.

As Emerson slept quietly next to me, I continued mindlessly caressing her soft skin, lost in my own thoughts. I hated that Emerson seemed to come into my life during a seemingly hectic time, and the shootout hadn't helped the situation any. Ray was getting ready to step down from President, and there was so much pressure on me from my brothers in the other charters to fill his shoes and keep the club running, making more money than ever before. Normally, Presidents weren't allowed to step down unless they were too old to ride or they were on their death bed, but Ray wasn't just any other President. He was the President, The 66 was something he had formed many years ago with a few of his buddies, all of which had spread out to create charters of their own. My father wasn't as young as he acted, and we all knew he wasn't getting any younger-- so he decided to step down and become a regular patched member-- still riding with us when we went to charity events, but choosing to take a step back when it came to our rather... unsavory business matters.

I tried not to be too overwhelmed with the fact that I was basically calling all the shots on my own already, but now that we were on the brink of war with a rival club, I was realizing that maybe I wasn't born to do this like I had previously thought. Sure, I was born into this family and I had been groomed to take over one day since I was old enough to ride, but my father had never explained to me what to do in times like these-- they didn't happen that often. Emerson stirred beneath me slightly and I leaned down to kiss her temple, breathing in the smell of coconut and whiskey and a smile crossed my face.